Page 72 - SurprisingTruthFinal

The Surprising Truth About Lying
was possible, because the statement was pure,
unmitigated truth.
Henry walked on, a knot tightening in his chest. He
saw another scene, further down the block: a father
holding his teenage daughter's hand, looking utterly
devastated.
"Dad," the daughter asked, her voice trembling
slightly, "do you think I'm smart enough to get into the
city college?"
The father, unable to offer the comfortable,
necessary lie that every parent tells, looked her in the
eyes. "No, honey. The truth is, your grades are too low,
and you're not disciplined enough to catch up. I love
you, but you will almost certainly fail the entrance
exam."
The daughter pulled her hand away as if burned,
her face twisting into a silent scream of betrayal. She
ran off, disappearing into the dark street.
Henry realized the horror. His old lies, the financial
and political ones, had been distant and abstract. They
killed people slowly, financially. But these new,
personal truths were immediate. They destroyed the
very basis of human connection: the delicate, shared
fiction that allows two imperfect beings to coexist
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